Published: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 1:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 7:05 p.m.

NORTH PORT - Legal battles and feuds between local school-governing boards and their corporate parent companies are not a new phenomenon among charter schools, experts say.

But what makes the Imagine School at North Port situation unusual is that the dispute ended with the ousting of the principal, some say.

Principal Justin Matthews, a well-known leader known to stand outside the school and greet children before class, will finish his last day on May 31.

“That’s a big question mark to me,” said Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. “That piece is unusual.”

Often times, problems stem from vague contracts or a local board growing dissatisfied for what it is paying for from its management company.

Such contract disputes “certainly aren’t the norm, but they do seem to happen regularly around the country,” Richmond said of charter schools. “What’s unusual is to have an employee pulled in the middle of this.”

On Friday, school officials and laywers would not release details of Matthews’ departure or say whether he received a payout to leave.

Neither Matthews, whose current annual salary is $97,850, nor his attorney could be reached for comment. The Imagine corporation’s attorney, Shawn Arnold, also declined to talk about the terms of Matthews leaving.

A settlement agreement between Imagine Schools and the local board revealed the North Port charter’s administrative fees will now be lowered. Instead of paying 12 percent, the school will pay 8.5 percent to its parent company.

The fees had been a major source of contention for local school officials, who cited them as a reason for trying to extricate themselves from Imagine Schools in February.

The Arlington, Va., parent company then sued Matthews and the local board for more than $15,000 in Sarasota County Circuit Court.

Both sides reached an agreement Thursday and announced that the lawsuit will be dismissed, with the school staying open under the Imagine name with a new principal in charge.

The settlement also says both sides will be responsible for paying their own legal bills.

Barbara McKeathon, Imagine’s local president, did not return calls seeking details about how much the local school spent on litigation.

A 2010-11 study showed nearly 39,000 students were enrolled in Imagine public charter schools in what a National Education Policy Center report described as one of the largest for-profit education management organizations in the nation.

At the time, there were 83 Imagine schools in the country, a number dwindling as several have closed recently, said Western Michigan University professor Gary Miron, who conducts the annual study.

In 2012, six charter schools closed in St. Louis because of financial management and academic problems, for example.

<p><em>NORTH PORT</em> - Legal battles and feuds between local school-governing boards and their corporate parent companies are not a new phenomenon among charter schools, experts say.</p><p>But what makes the Imagine School at North Port situation unusual is that the dispute ended with the ousting of the principal, some say.</p><p>Principal Justin Matthews, a well-known leader known to stand outside the school and greet children before class, will finish his last day on May 31.</p><p>“That's a big question mark to me,” said Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. “That piece is unusual.”</p><p>Often times, problems stem from vague contracts or a local board growing dissatisfied for what it is paying for from its management company. </p><p>Such contract disputes “certainly aren't the norm, but they do seem to happen regularly around the country,” Richmond said of charter schools. “What's unusual is to have an employee pulled in the middle of this.”</p><p>On Friday, school officials and laywers would not release details of Matthews' departure or say whether he received a payout to leave. </p><p>Neither Matthews, whose current annual salary is $97,850, nor his attorney could be reached for comment. The Imagine corporation's attorney, Shawn Arnold, also declined to talk about the terms of Matthews leaving.</p><p>A settlement agreement between Imagine Schools and the local board revealed the North Port charter's administrative fees will now be lowered. Instead of paying 12 percent, the school will pay 8.5 percent to its parent company.</p><p>The fees had been a major source of contention for local school officials, who cited them as a reason for trying to extricate themselves from Imagine Schools in February.</p><p>The Arlington, Va., parent company then sued Matthews and the local board for more than $15,000 in Sarasota County Circuit Court.</p><p>Both sides reached an agreement Thursday and announced that the lawsuit will be dismissed, with the school staying open under the Imagine name with a new principal in charge.</p><p>The settlement also says both sides will be responsible for paying their own legal bills.</p><p>Barbara McKeathon, Imagine's local president, did not return calls seeking details about how much the local school spent on litigation.</p><p>A 2010-11 study showed nearly 39,000 students were enrolled in Imagine public charter schools in what a National Education Policy Center report described as one of the largest for-profit education management organizations in the nation.</p><p>At the time, there were 83 Imagine schools in the country, a number dwindling as several have closed recently, said Western Michigan University professor Gary Miron, who conducts the annual study.</p><p>In 2012, six charter schools closed in St. Louis because of financial management and academic problems, for example.</p>